And ... it's going down to the -40°s with wind chill tonight. That's over 70°F below the freezing point of water. Worse, I have to go out in this Scheisse tomorrow.
2,976 2016-12-09 06:31:04
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
2,977 2016-12-08 20:09:13
Topic: Imperial vs. imperial (5 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)
I've run into another round of capitalization issues that I need help with. I've been capitalizing the term Imperial throughout my book. I've been treating Imperium/Imperial as comparable to Canada/Candian. Pretty much no other resource I've checked capitalizes imperial, except as part of a proper noun (e.g., Imperial Rome). I've now run into a situation where Imperial should definitely be lowercase, so I'm abandoning capitalization of the word, which raises the following cases:
1. A small imperial fleet is approaching. (Lowercase.)
2. The entire Imperial Fleet is approaching. (Proper noun.)
3. The Imperial Perimiter is off limits. (Proper noun.)
4. The Imperial Colloseum collapsed. (Proper noun.)
5. The Imperials are attacking. (???)
6. The imperial admiral is approaching. (Lowercase.)
7. It was Imperial Admiral Gaius Lupus who attacked. (I'm treating Imperial as a formal part of his title, hence caps.)
8. The imperial palace was attacked. (??? Not sure exactly if "imperial palace" should be caps. It strikes me as odd that Imperial Perimeter would be capitalized, but not imperial palace.)
9. The imperial family was attacked. (??? Same question as imperial palace.)
10. His chest was emblazoned with the imperial emblem. (??? Same question. Wikipedia refers to Britain's coat of arms as either the Royal coat of arms or the Royal Arms. Other sources write it as Britain's Coat of Arms.)
11. The Imperial Classiarii attacked. (??? Classiarii is Latin for marines. Not sure if Imperial should be capitalized here or not. I assume it comes down to whether imperial and Classiarii form a proper noun. If I do capitalize it, doesn't that suggest that imperial family, imperial palace, and imperial emblem also be caps? If I take that to a ridiculous extreme, I'll end up with things like Imperial Farts. Where does the use of proper nouns begin and end?)
Thanks!
2,978 2016-12-08 08:59:06
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I like your idea, Amy. There may be enough different kinds of attacks for a Galactipedia article. And it gives me another opportunity for nonsense.
2,979 2016-12-08 03:49:09
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Or ... the problem is supposed to be fixed, but (almost) no one trusts the tech?
Why would they? The developed world is in for a serious reckoning when the IoT takes off. One successful, simultaneous attack is all it takes, and we know that few government/business entities are secure enough to prevent a massive attack.
2,980 2016-12-08 03:44:32
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Dirk, I like wiseass.
That's the Acme-branded toilet paper. It analyzes a sample of stool and transmits the results to your wisething. Yes, I'm kidding.
And shouldn't you be editing? Bzzt!
I'm endlessly tweaking my first two chapters because the third chapter is turning into a bear and I'm too lazy to tackle it.
One noteworthy change: I'm switching emperor and empress back to imperator and imperatrix. Screw the wordiness. I prefer the historical accuracy. Apollo goes back to being heres imperiales.
I'm also considering changing Imperial to imperial to match common usage (Wikipedia and Star Wars, as well as several history books I'm using). I originally chose caps because Imperium/Imperial is a lot like Canada/Canadian. That creates problems in sentences like this: the imperator let rip with an Imperial fart. See the problem? imperator is not important enough to capitalize, yet Imperial fart is.
2,981 2016-12-08 03:13:50
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I'm hoping the aforementioned virus that blinds wiseeyes users will be sufficient to render them unusable. I'll look for an excuse to mention it. Perhaps even an event called the Great Blinding for a massive simultaneous attack in the past.
2,982 2016-12-08 01:01:09
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Don't forget to name a character after me. I like Memoroid. Or hemorrhoid. Your call.
2,983 2016-12-08 00:02:24
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
The Irish Ballad by Tom Lehrer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_jjRNMOopA
2,984 2016-12-07 22:17:11
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I think I've got it. Viruses that take control of the tech in wiseeyes and use it to mislead the wearer about what's going on around them or, better yet, even damage the eyes. Instead of displaying simple text, videos, or augmented reality in front of the iris, infected wiseeyes can blind the wearer by displaying brilliant off-the-charts light instead.
Is there a real-world reason why permanently blinding the wearer wouldn't work?
2,985 2016-12-07 21:28:53
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I like the name (it goes with wisething or wisewatch for the wrist, and wisepad). I'm just worried it's capabilities are going to blow key parts of my story apart. In 2000 years, those things should be really smart, including full integration with Galaxinet, auto-identification of everything in the field of view, display enhancements such as zoom (maybe even night vision), threat detection and targeting, messaging, virtual keyboards, etc. Add a bluetooth headset and you're always on all the time. You become almost a cyborg.
You'll recall I banished genetic engineering because of Dr. Ess (so that humans won't have genetically engineered themselves to perfection by 4017). I also placed a limit on AI intelligence by including the possibility that they become sentient and cause havoc, even turning on their masters. This is true for all of the better droids (usually IQ-C or IQ-D) and ship's AIs (IQ-B). I'm saving IQ-A for something really complex, like large-scale battle coordination. The higher the IQ, the greater the risk.
I need a reason why advanced wiseeyes don't exist or are generally not used.
2,986 2016-12-07 18:24:13
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I prefer writing without the wiseeyes, but reality suggests we'll have them in the distant future, so I'm trying to figure out how to include them without them taking over the original story.
2,987 2016-12-07 05:17:43
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
nairadeceba Romney
2,988 2016-12-07 01:07:03
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Eclectic Clinton
2,989 2016-12-07 00:59:43
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I almost forgot the most important piece of tech in any royal toolkit: the ubiquitous datapad. We'll call them wisepads.
Here's an example scenario regarding wiseeyes and wisepads. Apollo and his chief of staff, General Acrisius, are walking to the study and an aide comes up and hands Apollo a wisepad with a text message from Mama. Apollo reads it, then hands it to Acrisius to read, too. If I try to use wiseeyes, the aide (wearing wiseeyes) would walk up, make some gesture to transfer the message to Apollo's wiseeyes, who subsequently transfers it to Acrisius. But! What does the aide do if he just woke up Apollo and he isn't wearing them? (I assume their removable so they can be easily replaced and/or confiscated for security reasons.) Should the aid carry a wisepad wherever he goes in case the emperor is not online? (I ignore the case where Apollo is always on with the palace AI (mindmeld), since advanced AIs have a habit of coming alive and causing havoc at the worst times.) But, a simple rule in Apollo's inbox to notify his wiseeyes when there's a message from Mama is all it takes to put the aide out of work. And Apollo could use his wiseeyes virtual buttons (I don't like hand gestures, too tiring) to forward the message to Acrisius. But! Watch out for door jams and droids, because you're going to bump into one if you're reading while walking. But! The wiseeyes could potentially be configured to warn him when he's about to crash into something or drop through a manhole. What about wiseears and wisemouths to carry on fully immersive conversations with anyone anywhere? And if everyone is sporting these Acme goodies, then there is no more need for 2D or 3D displays.
My head is spinning....
2,990 2016-12-06 20:05:12
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
WestinghouseRunning
2,991 2016-12-06 16:00:42
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Opinions, please. I'm writing about the 41st century, and the technology consists of 2D and 3D displays, and "wisethings" (smartwatches that Tim Cook could only dream of). However, I don't yet use "wiseeyes" (contacts lenses). I had originally considered using wiseeyes for bringing up information about whatever was appropriate for the scene, but I think it will become a distraction to explain in each scene what the wiseeyes are displaying. And don't even get me started with hand gestures to interact with the wiseeyes. I was considering having the eyeseyes able to accept input by the wearer staring at "buttons" on the wiseeyes display. I also worry about writing myself into a corner, where the wiseeyes make it impossible to fail.
Thoughts?
2,992 2016-12-06 13:27:45
Re: I'm still alive but... (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I"m already getting accidents with people being dragged on sleds by 4 wheelers. And...then the vehicle changes direction...and then the rider goes whoopsie...
And there hasn't been a lick of snow in our area.
God, I can't wait for the cold. This global warming is letting people stay outside instead of holing up in their houses to stay warm.
Minus -10°C up here. -20°C overnight. -30°C with wind chill. That's 30° below the freezing point of water! I laugh at 30°. I'll be going out to club some baby seals later today.
2,993 2016-12-06 03:07:32
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I'll have a Zombie Celtics Zamboni with meat sauce, a gallon of ice cream, and a diet coke.
2,994 2016-12-05 03:25:31
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Never mind. I can use Rosary, since it's Joseph, and still give a nod to Rosie.
2,995 2016-12-05 03:17:52
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I need a cute name for a robot maid named by young Joseph. So far I've got Miss Rosie (from the Jetsons, except I use it as a last name) and Mammy from Gone With the Wind. I already have the butler, Mr. Uppity, and the cook, Mrs. Butter. Miss Rosie is probably best, except I don't want to deal with cease and desist letters. Are you allowed to name a robot after someone from fiction?
2,996 2016-12-05 00:48:10
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Wow! Thanks for all the work. I decided Shiburasu is fine. No one but us will get the joke, anyway.
2,997 2016-12-04 18:52:56
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Which one sounds closer to sea? Shi or She?
2,998 2016-12-04 06:27:30
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Shiburasu has grown on me. Is there a meaningful difference between Shiburasu and Sheburasu? I'm guessing the latter sounds more like shay, but I don't know what I'm talking about.
2,999 2016-12-03 21:00:15
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Thanks for the half hour. :-) I'll find another place or character to slip him in. It's too bad. I really wanted to make him the shogun.
3,000 2016-12-03 20:52:53
Re: NorthernSkies or NS - Janet (213 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
It's the second exchange with Windsor about becoming a drag queen: I gather you were unimpressed with my last request. Perhaps you are right. Jangaroo is cookoo for cocopuffs.
The last bit needs replacing. Thanks.